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Capitol Report: Stopping ObamaCare from Hurting Rural Missouri

Sep 6, 2013

Weekly Capitol Report

From the beginning, the only thing bipartisan about President Obama’s healthcare mandate has been bipartisan opposition. Democrats and Republicans agree the law will hurt our economy by imposing new fines and regulations on small businesses. President Obama’s law does nothing to make healthcare more accessible or affordable in rural Missouri. The mandate takes $500 billion from Medicare that will hurt our senior citizens. Finally, ObamaCare is a new trillion dollar entitlement program that will only grow in cost and size. For all of these reasons, I joined an effort to encourage leaders in the House of Representatives to end funding for this deeply flawed program.

Since 2009, the House of Representatives has voted over 30 times to repeal, defund or dismantle provisions of the law. While these efforts have slowed down the law and have even been successful in changing small portions of the mandate, more needs to be done to stop the negative impact the law will have on our nation.

I am encouraging House leaders to hold two votes. One vote would be on funding all government operations besides ObamaCare. The second vote would be on ObamaCare funding. My constituents deserve legislation that is transparent. I can think of no better way to provide transparency than by having a standalone bill for ObamaCare funding.

While I do not support ObamaCare, I do agree that America’s healthcare system needs reform. Healthcare needs to be affordable and accessible. Patients should be empowered and not overburdened with rules and financial penalties from Washington. We need smart reform that enacts medical liability reform, allows individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines, expands personal health savings accounts and ensures access for people with pre-existing conditions. We do not need a healthcare mandate from the federal government that creates a new entitlement program that will only grow in size and expense and hurts the doctor-patient relationship.

By its nature, President Obama's health care mandate is destructive to job creation, and it forces individuals out of full-time work and into part-time work. At a time when Americans so desperately seek jobs and financial security, this law achieves neither while destroying our health care system. House leaders would be wise to continue efforts to stop the law from going into effect, by defunding the legislation. I will continue to stand with the vast majority of the American people in opposition to this disastrous law, and I remain committed to its total and permanent repeal.